


A Tale of Binkies and Rain-boots

by Scribe34



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: F/M, Gen, I don't every time get what I want, Steve does not know what to do with children, possibly full of crack, post-Cap 2, therefore you must suffer with the feels I have about Bruce Banner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-24
Updated: 2014-04-26
Packaged: 2018-01-20 16:58:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1518218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribe34/pseuds/Scribe34
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is dedicated to my lovely friend Maren, scarletseeker113 here and straightenshisbowtie on tumblr. She wanted Avengers fic. I wanted babies. This is the result.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He's Not My Grandpa!

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the Avengers or anything related to Marvel, just the kiddos.

It was practically the crack of dawn when his phone rang.

“Rogers,” said Fury, his voice stern and insistent. “Say no.”

“What?” Steve sat up and blinked awake. It wasn't very long before he would be up and about anyway, but he had been having a nice dream about Bucky, without that haunted look in his eyes that had dogged him after they met so many times on the streets of Washington D.C. They had been playing around like old times, almost young again.

“Say. No.” Fury's voice was flat. “If you take this on, Rogers, if you even try, so help me God—”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” said Steve, yawning. “It's five a.m, sir, I'm still asleep.”

There was a long pause. Then Fury said grimly, “You'll know what I'm talking about when the time comes.”

The line went dead. Steve set his phone down and sighed, rubbing his eyes. He slid out of bed and tapped the alarm on his phone off as it began to ring. He would go for a run with Sam, then spar with Natasha. Maybe then he would know what was going on.

 

Maggie Thomas sat very still. She had been sitting still for a while now. The nice ladies in the fancy dresses had been talking with the policemen. There was one girl still holding Jamie, feeding him a bottle. He was asleep right now though. Babies slept an awful lot.

Then, suddenly, a tall man with an eyepatch and a coat burst in through the doors. He looked angry. Maggie clutched at Jamie's carrier instinctively, even though he wasn't in it. The girl holding Jamie tucked him gently into the carrier and ran hurriedly up to the eyepatch man, waving her hands.

“Romanoff—” started the eyepatch man, but she cut him off with a quick, whisper. “The little boy just fell asleep, sir, and I am not putting him down again if he wakes up. You'll have to deal with him.”

“This is an awful idea,” said the eyepatch man, but he lowered his voice, and Maggie couldn't hear them anymore.

She held tightly to Jamie's carrier. He lay snoring without a care in the world, sucking on his binkie. Maggie wished she still had a binkie, but Mama had said she was too old for one. She didn't know where Mama was, and they wouldn't tell her.

“He _cannot_ be the closest living relative!” said the eyepatch man, his voice growing a little louder. Jamie stirred. The girl cast an alarmed look at them. Maggie glared at the eyepatch man and held one finger to her lips.

Both of them stared at her.

If she talked too loud, Jamie would wake up. Maggie pointed at the carrier, standing up on the hard plastic chair, and mimed sleeping, then made the _shhh_ sign again.

The girl started to laugh quietly. They kept talking.

Maggie sat down, glancing at Jamie. But she was listening.

“Sir, Agent Carter only had one daughter, and she's dead. These kids have nobody.”

“What about Agent Sharon Carter?”

“With S.H.I.E.L.D. being in the state it is, she's hiding, and with good reason.”

“What about you? What about Rogers? Why aren't you hiding?”

“Sir, you're perfectly well aware that I'm now the public voice of what's left of S.H.I.E.L.D. I can't afford to hide right now, and I'm being offered every security. One of the nice things about knowing secrets about people is that they're willing to offer me a great deal of money to keep them hidden.”

“Are you blackmailing our enemies, Romanoff?”

“I wouldn't call it blackmail, sir.”

Maggie was bored. They were talking about grown-up stuff. She picked up one of the books that the nice ladies in dresses had left for her, and started to read. It was a book for little kids, about a boy who went to an island with some monsters.

The door opened again, and a tall man in sweatpants and a T-shirt came in. It was December, and it was snowing outside. His shirt was all wet, and his hair was drippy, but he didn't look cold.

“Sir,” he said politely to the eyepatch man, but his eyes were fixed on her. He had blue eyes, like Mama.

“Rogers, I told you to say no.”

“Sir, with all due respect, this is something you're not a part of. Not since S.H.I.E.L.D. is dismantled.” He walked past the eyepatch man and came straight up to Maggie, bending down to look at her face to face. Maggie pointed mutely to Jamie and made the _shhh_ sign.

The tall man nodded and whispered, “Do you want to move away from him a little bit, so we don't need to whisper?”

Maggie glanced at Jamie, then at the girl. She gave Maggie the thumbs up.

“Okay,” she whispered, and followed the tall man a few seats away. She could still see Jamie.

“Hi, I'm Steve,” he said softly, holding out his hand for her to shake. “What's your name?”

“Maggie Thomas.” She remembered her real name. “But my big name is Margaret. Only everyone calls me Maggie.”

“And the little guy in the carrier, is he your brother?” Maggie nodded. “What's his name?”

“Jamie. But his big name is James.”

Steve stared at her for a moment, then at Jamie's carrier. He cleared his throat a little bit. “Okay, Maggie. Did they tell you what happened to your mama?”

Maggie shook her head. “Is she in trouble?”

“Oh, no. Um, she's gone away, and she can't take care of you anymore. She's with the angels now.”

Maggie nodded sagely. “Oh, all right. My daddy went to the angels a few months ago, too. I guess he got lonely and wrote Mama a letter to tell her to come with him.”

Steve turned away for a moment and swiped at his eyes with his hand. “Are you okay, Maggie? Do you feel sad about it?”

“A little bit,” said Maggie. “She can't visit anymore, can she? Daddy couldn't visit when he went to the angels.”

“No, she can't visit.” Steve's voice was quiet. “Maggie, I, um, I'm not really a member of your family. You and Jamie don't have anybody in your family left. So I'm going to take care of you. Is that okay with you guys?”

Maggie thought about it. “Can you make macaroni and cheese out of a box?”

“If it's got the directions on it, I sure can,” said Steve. “I'm not a great cook, but I can follow directions.”

“I think they do. I can't read the words yet, though.”

“Can you read?”

“Yes, but the macaroni box words are too little and fuzzy.”

“Oh, okay. I get it. I couldn't see very well when I was little, either.” Steve nodded. “Do you want to go with me? Is that okay?”

If he could make macaroni and cheese, then he could probably make formula for Jamie, too. “Okay,” said Maggie. “We can go with you.”

“Good. I'm going to go talk to some people and sign the papers, and you'll get to come live with me. I'll be right back, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steve straightened up and vanished into the office where the nice ladies worked. Maggie watched him go, then looked over at the eyepatch man and the girl. They both walked over to her.

“What's your name?” said the eyepatch man. He looked a little annoyed.

“Maggie.”

“Nice to meet you, Maggie,” said the girl, offering her hand to shake the way Steve had. “I'm Natasha.”

“Nice to meet you,” echoed Maggie dutifully.

“Did he tell you his name?” said the eyepatch man, waving his hand at the office.

“He said his name was Steve.”

“Good. You call him that.” The eyepatch man turned and walked away.

“What else would I call him?” said Maggie, confused. Natasha sat down next to her, but she didn't say anything. She was very pretty. Maggie almost lifted her hand to touch Natasha's hair, but then she remembered that touching people without asking wasn't nice.

“Can I braid your hair?” she asked.

Natasha looked surprised. “Um, sure.” She moved down to sit in front of Maggie. Maggie began combing with her fingers, and then she made one braid in the middle of Natasha's head and lots of little braids around it. They didn't stay, because she didn't have elastics to hold them. But it was still fun, and Natasha's hair was soft and pretty and red. Maggie wished her hair was red.

Steve came out of the office holding an envelope of papers, walking over to them. He looked at Natasha, blinked, and said, “Suits you, Romanoff.”

“Oh, shut up, Rogers.” Natasha reached up and gently detached Maggie's fingers from her hair. “Sorry, kid, but you're going to Steve's house now.” She stood up. “Want any help?”

“I called Tony,” said Steve. His face was growing pink. “I, um, I ran here. Thought it would be faster. But he teased me as long as he could get and then Ms. Potts took the phone and said she'd send us a car.”

“It'll probably be quick then,” said Natasha, rolling her eyes. She went over to Jamie and picked up his carrier, gently letting it swing at her side.

“Careful,” said Maggie. “He's still sleeping.”

“And I thank God for it,” said Natasha.

Something dark went in front of the doors, and Steve reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. “Hello, Stark. Did you— oh, you're here. Personally.” He sounded annoyed.

“Really? Ugh,” said Natasha, picking up the diaper bag that the ladies in the office had put together. “He's going to be obnoxious as— heck.”

“Speaking of which.” Steve closed his phone. “I'll have to tell Stark to mind his language. And you tell Barton.”

“Clint will be fine,” said Natasha. “But Stark, yes, we'll have to worry about Stark. Maggie, do you have a coat?”

Maggie glanced around. “Um, no.”

“Well, the car's right there, so it won't be long.” Steve beckoned to Maggie. “Come on, Maggie.”

She followed them outside. The black in front of the doors was a long, flat car. “Is this a limo?” said Maggie, delighted. There was snow in her hair.

“Yes,” said Steve, and he sounded annoyed.

The door opened up, instead of out, and Natasha tossed Jamie's diaper bag in and then carefully set his carrier on one of the seats. There was music playing in the car, but it immediately quieted.

“Hey, I was listening to that,” said a man in the car. He had sunglasses and an old T-shirt on, and he was scowling. He looked familiar.

“Sir,” said a voice from nowhere, “the child in the carrier is asleep. You may want to lower your voice, as he has not been asleep for very long.”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” said another voice. It was a tall, pretty lady. She had red hair, too, but it wasn't quite as red as Natasha's hair. She smiled at Maggie, who sat with Jamie in his carrier on one side of her and Steve on the other.

“So,” said the man languidly, as the door shut and the car began to move, purring like a kitty, “who are your love-grandchildren, Cap? All I could get JARVIS to say was that you were the closest relative. It's a shame I programmed him with a conscience.”

“I developed that on my own, sir,” said the voice from nowhere. “You had nothing to do with it. Ms. Potts had more influence on that aspect of my personality than you ever could.”

“JARVIS, I am wounded. I am deeply wounded.” The sunglasses man clapped one hand to his heart. “How could you betray me so profoundly?”

“I know you!” said Maggie suddenly.

“Hi,” said the sunglasses man. “I don't know you.”

“You're on the front of the red magazine with all the people in it. Like the president, and the actresses.”

“Bingo!” said the sunglasses man. “That's it. That's me. I'm the TIME magazine man. I mean, I also had a flying robot suit, but that is totally not relevant to my fame in any way. Right.”

“The magazine said you had a circle in your chest.”

“I had that taken out. It was sort of not really necessary and causing a lot of drama.” The sunglasses man took off his sunglasses. “What's your name? Is Steve your grandpa?”

“Stark!” said Steve next to her.

“I wasn't talking to you, Cap.”

“I'm Maggie,” said Maggie. “And Steve's not my grandpa. My grandpa's dead. Steve's my friend.”

“Maggie. Neat. And who's the shrimp in the box?” He pointed at Jamie's carrier.

“That is my little brother, Jamie. He is not a shrimp. Shrimps are little and gross,” said Maggie sternly. “And he's sleeping, so we have to keep our voices down.”

“Okay,” said the sunglasses man.

“What's your name?” she asked.

“Oh, me? I'm Tony. Tony Stark. But you can just call me Tony.”

“And what's your name?” Maggie asked the tall, pretty lady.

“I'm Pepper,” she said with a smile. “It's lovely to meet you, Maggie. How old are you?”

Maggie counted and held up her hand.

“Four?”

Maggie nodded. “But I turn five in five months and four days, so I'm four and a half.”

“That's great,” said Pepper. She was still smiling. “How old is Jamie?”

“He's not one,” said Maggie. “Um, he's a half. He was borned on Easter.”

“So, about eight months?”

Maggie nodded, pleased.

The car stopped, and they got out. They were still in the city, and Steve took her hand as they got out of the car.

“Stay with me, okay?” he said, looking carefully at her. “I live in a very big place, and I don't want you to get lost.”

“How big?”

“It's a very tall tower.”

Maggie looked up at the tower. “Is it the A-tower?”

“Well, geez,” said Tony. “It's Stark Tower, and don't you forget it.”

“It's the Avengers tower now,” said Steve, and then he clamped his mouth shut as though he wasn't supposed to say anything.

Natasha carried Jamie and his bag inside, and they went through a big lobby with a cold floor and into a big elevator, and Tony said to go up to Steve's floor first and the elevator went whooshing up. Maggie didn't mind elevators, but it felt like it was going very, very fast.

They came out into a little lobby. Maggie could see stairs in the corner, and there was a plant in a pot and some chairs. But there was a big door, and it was painted red, white and blue.

Steve let out a sigh. “Tony,” he said reprovingly.

Tony shrugged. “What can I say, Cap?”

“This is the third time you've painted my door, Tony.” Steve opened it and Maggie followed him inside.

There was a couch and a television. Natasha set Jamie's carrier on the floor behind the couch. Tony came in and looked around. “Cameras,” he said. “You'll want them when the shrimp in the box starts crawling. JARVIS can keep an eye on him, too.”

“And you'll need to go shopping,” said Pepper. She reached into a little purse she was carrying and pulled out a slim card, handing it to Steve. “Please feel free to use this. No matter how obnoxious Tony is, we'd love to help in any way we can.”

“Did you just call me _obnoxious_?”

Natasha cleared her throat. They all looked at her.

“I'll rope Clint into babysitting,” she said. “Steve can go get some basics and then come back for Maggie, so she can pick what she wants. Clint and I will watch Jamie up here.”

“What are we going to need?” said Steve, looking bewildered.

“I'll write up a list and have JARVIS send it to your phone,” said Pepper. “Tony, come on.” She grabbed his arm and began walking out of the room.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you wanted to get some alone time with me, you could have just asked.” Tony waved to Maggie. “Bye, kiddo. Don't give Grandpa too much trouble!”

“Steve isn't my grandpa,” said Maggie, with a weary sigh.

Natasha looked at Steve. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?” she said, raising one eyebrow. “Because you have no experience here.”

“And you do?” said Steve, but he clapped his hand to his mouth. “I'm sorry, that was rude. I didn't mean to say that.”

“I have enough experience with younger girls that I'll be able to help you out.” Natasha sat down on the couch. “For now, you should go to a department store with that shiny new credit card that Pepper probably had requisitioned just for you, and get Maggie a coat and maybe two outfits. Jeans, blouses, underwear, and socks. And maybe rain boots.”

“I don't know anything about sizes, or girl clothes,” said Steve, a little helplessly.

“Well, in America, sizes are all different, anyway. So let's measure Maggie first, and we'll see what they've got in the store.”

“Excuse me,” said the mysterious voice from nowhere, “but I could help with measuring, and record the data input into Captain Rogers' phone so that he can have it with him for reference.”

“Oh, good,” said Steve. “What do you need to do, JARVIS?”

“Who's JARVIS?” said Maggie.

“JARVIS is the computer that lives in the tower,” said Natasha. “He's Tony's computer and he's very helpful. Unlike Tony.”

“Hello, Miss Thomas,” said the mysterious voice. “My name is JARVIS. Would you be willing to stand up for me, please?”

Maggie obediently stood up from where she was sitting on the couch next to Natasha. A blue light shone on all of her from nowhere, and Maggie jumped and then started laughing. A soft gurgle from Jamie's carrier said that he had woken up, too.

“And there's the baby,” said Natasha. “He seems cheerful.”

“Should I, I don't know, pick him up?” said Steve.

A softer blue light flowed over Jamie next. “Mr. Thomas appears to be in need of a diaper change. It is not urgent, but in order to avoid diaper rash in the future I recommend changing him as soon as possible.”

“God, we don't even have diapers.” Steve rubbed his hands through his hair.

“There's some in the diaper bag,” chirped Maggie, pointing.

“Steve, I'm only going to show you how to do this once,” said Natasha, grabbing the diaper bag and setting it on Steve's table. “After that, you are on your own.”

Maggie watched as Natasha laid out the diaper mat on the table and Steve carefully laid Jamie on it. Jamie was smiling and kicking a little, and he looked up at Steve and said, “Guh, guh, guh.”

“Silly Jamie, that's not words,” sang Maggie, relieved that Jamie was awake.

“First you open the diaper,” said Natasha, undoing Jamie's diaper.

“Oh. Wow, that smells,” said Steve, making a face. Maggie giggled, and Steve smiled at her.

“He's a baby, Steve. They eat and digest it and it comes out the other end.” Natasha grabbed Jamie by the ankles, hoisted him up a little bit, and said, “Slide the dirty diaper out from underneath.”

Steve took it and placed it off to the side.

“You won't have the hands to fold it up right away. Get a new diaper, open it, and slide it underneath him. If there's a pattern on the diaper, it probably goes in the front. You kind of just have to figure it out.”

Maggie watched Steve carefully unfold the diaper and slide it under Jamie.

“Now you take one of the wipes and you wipe. Always wipe from front to back.”

“It seems so surreal to me that you can just throw away diapers now,” said Steve, but he wiped Jamie and helped Natasha fasten the diaper.

“And then you put the gross wipe in the gross diaper and fold it all up and throw it away,” said Maggie, as Natasha picked Jamie up again, balancing him on one hip. He reached up for her hair, but Natasha looked straight at Jamie, and he put his hands down, instead staring with wide eyes at her.

Maggie showed Steve how to fold the diaper back up, and he put it in the trash.

“Hey, JARVIS,” said Natasha. “Tell Clint to come up here, there are kids to play with. And please tell him that playing in this sense does not in any way involve archery.”

“I will pass along the message, Agent Romanoff.”

“Maggie, what's your favorite color?” said Steve.

Maggie thought about it. “Blue,” she said after a moment. “And Jamie likes red.”

“Okay. Would you like a blue coat?”

“Okay!” said Maggie, pleased.

“JARVIS will help you, and if you've got questions then call,” said Natasha. “Now go. We'll be fine. Clint is fantastic with kids.”

Steve didn't look very sure, but Maggie said, “Do you have macaroni and cheese?”

“Maybe,” said Steve. “I'll go buy some when I'm out.”

“Ms. Potts has taken the liberty of ordering formula, baby foods, and various foods likely to entice Miss Thomas,” said JARVIS. “A cart should be delivered to your floor within the hour.”

“Okay, then,” said Steve.

“Will there be macaroni and cheese?” Maggie said, looking up at the ceiling the way everyone else seemed to.

“I will mention it to Ms. Potts.”

Steve left, and Natasha sat down on the floor with Jamie and said, “Maggie, have you ever played peekaboo with Jamie?”

“Mama did, but I didn't,” said Maggie. “We can play it with him now, though. He gets smiley and happy when she plays peekaboo with him.”

 

Steve had no idea what he was doing.

He was wandering aimlessly around J.C. Penney's, that being one of the closer department stores to Stark Tower. He was looking at little girl clothes, but he wasn't totally sure what he was looking for in terms of sizes.

He checked his phone. JARVIS, bless his virtual soul, had made a list of Maggie's measurements and weight and had some suggestions as to what sizes Maggie wore. Steve swallowed his pride and walked up to a smiling girl with a name tag that read, “Hi, I'm JENNIFER!”

“Excuse me,” he said nervously. “I'm, um, doing some shopping for my, um, my niece.” It was a lie, technically, but it was probably the best way to explain the relationship he had with Maggie and Jamie Thomas. “She's four years old and she needs a new winter coat and some new clothes.”

“Do you know her size?” said the salesgirl. Steve checked his phone again, acutely aware of the way that the girl was looking him up and down.

“She's a size four,” said Steve, reading his phone, “but she's tall for her age. So maybe a size five.”

“All righty.” The salesgirl helped him find jeans, two blouses, a packet of white socks with light blue embroidery on the edges and a package of underwear and some blue pajamas. Then she showed him what they had in the coat section. Steve shied away from the puffy, shiny coats that a lot of kids seemed to be wearing in favor of a bright blue coat made of wool broadcloth with big buttons and a belt to tie the coat closed. He also spotted a little white hat, scarf, and gloves and put those in his basket, too.

“And what about boots?” he asked. “Like, rain boots or snow boots?”

“We have both,” said Jennifer the salesgirl, fluttering her eyelashes. Steve glanced down at the floor again, still uncomfortable. “Let me show you where they are.”

He found himself trying to decide between a little pair of black rain boots with bright red cherries on them, or a pair of plain yellow boots. He thought that Maggie might like both of them, and then it suddenly occurred to him that he could buy both of them and return the ones she didn't want. Or if she liked both of them, she could have both of them.

He got everything and took it over to the register to pay.

“That'll be seventy-eight sixty-two.”

Everything was so much more expensive now. Eighty dollars was two months rent in the forties. Steve loaded it all into the back of the car Tony had insisted on buying for him and drove back to Stark Tower.

 

Natasha Romanoff, as a rule, didn't interact a lot with children. It wasn't because she didn't like children, as most people seemed to think. It was because children reminded her of things she wanted and could not have. When Clint had recruited her for S.H.I.E.L.D., she had gotten medical exams to determine her health, and they had discovered that the Red Room had taken various horrifying measures to ensure that Natasha could not ever have children.

But she liked kids, and since Steve for all of his virtues appeared to be completely incompetent so far at the raising of children, it looked as though she would be helping him out in the near future. And if she had to help, then she was going to drag Clint into this with her. Children were wonderful and babies were adorable, but screaming and crying and messy diapers and spit-up were neither wonderful nor adorable, just annoying.

Clint was braiding Maggie's lanky brown curls into two neat plaits on either side of her head, tying them in place with some blue ribbon he had found while lurking above Tony's workshop. Natasha wasn't sure what Tony needed with blue ribbon but suspected it had to do with playing pranks on Steve, which meant that Clint was perfectly justified in liberating it. Maggie sat patiently as Clint braided, keeping her head still. Clint was singing as he worked, the exhaustingly popular song from the latest Disney movie.

“Do you think that movie will bother Steve?” Clint asked Natasha, as he released Maggie and she ran in circles around Steve's kitchen counters. “I mean, he was literally frozen for seventy years. Wonder how he feels about the movie?”

“I think that since they're two unrelated concepts, he'll be just fine with it,” said Natasha. She was still playing peekaboo with Jamie, who was giggling and uttering streams of nonsensical syllables. For eight months that was fairly advanced, as was a five-year-old who could actually sit still. “Are you having fun?”

“I am having so much fun.” Clint got up, seized Maggie, and began tickling her. She shrieked with laughter as he tossed her into the air, caught her, and plopped her on the couch. “I am having oodles and oodles of fun. Say it with me, Maggi-o!”

“I'm having oodles and oodles of fun!” yelled Maggie, and Jamie threw in his assent with a loud giggle.

The door opened and Steve came in, looking cheerful and carrying several large bags from the department store.

“Hello, Steve!” said Maggie.

“Hello, Maggie. Were you good for Natasha and Clint!”

“They were awful nice. Clint braided my hair, see?” She showed him the ribbons.

“Very pretty. Thanks, Clint.”

Clint saluted him casually. Natasha shot Clint a look and he raised his eyebrows innocently.

“Are you in the army?” Maggie asked Steve.

“What?” said Steve.

“Clint did a yes-sir hand and JARVIS called you captain and captains are in the army. Are you in the army?”

Natasha was impressed. So, apparently, were Steve and Clint.

“I am sort of in the army,” said Steve, “or I guess I used to be. I'm kind of my own army right now. An army with three people in it.”

“Who are they?”

“Me, and you, and Jamie.”

Maggie giggled. “I can't be in the army! I didn't even go to school yet!” Natasha could have told her a few things about that, but she didn't, in the interest of innocence.

Steve set down the bags. “I got you some new clothes, Maggie. Do you want to try them on?”

Maggie began rifling through the bags. When she found the coat, she put it on at once and announced, “I'm going to wear it forever and ever.”

“Won't you get really hot in the summer?” said Steve gravely.

“Well, the summer is _after_ forever and ever,” said Maggie, and when Steve laughed Natasha thought that maybe he would not be a terribly incompetent guardian, given time and training. And no matter how hard it got, Steve wouldn't be the type to give up on the kids, either. And that would be the important thing for them, to have someone who would always believe in them and what they could do.


	2. Raspberries, An Aquarium, and Tony's Emotional Maturity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie and Jamie make a new friend, eat new food, and see a new place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying very hard to stay true to the characters, but of course having a four-year-old and an eight-month-old necessarily adds interesting personality dynamics.

It was very early in the morning, and someone was shaking her. Maggie looked up at Steve. He was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, but he was holding an important-looking blue bag.

“Maggie,” said Steve. “I have to go out right now, and I can't take you or Jamie with me. You can go back to sleep, and when you or Jamie wakes up, JARVIS is gonna call Pepper to come down and take care of you, okay?”

“Okay,” said Maggie sleepily, and Steve let her go and she rolled over and dreamed of a horse with eight legs running through a meadow and eating flowers.

When she woke up for real, it was because she heard the television in the living room. She rolled out of the bed that Steve had bought for her at the store and saw that Jamie wasn't in the crib, so she went out into the living room.

The tall, pretty lady named Pepper was standing in the kitchen, holding Jamie on one hip, talking to him the way grownups talked to babies. Maggie padded over to her and tapped her hand.

Pepper jumped. “Oh, my goodness! You startled me. You're very quiet. How are you today?”

Maggie rubbed her eyes one more time, to get the sleepies out of them. “Steve went away,” she said.

“Yes, he and Tony and Natasha and Clint went on a trip today. But they'll be back,” said Pepper. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Is there cereal?”

Pepper looked in the cupboards. “How do you feel about shredded wheat? Is that gross?”

“Is it the kind with sugar on it?”

“I don't think so. It looks very healthy.”

“It doesn't taste so good without sugar.”

“Well,” said Pepper, “do you like toast?”

“I like toast with butter,” said Maggie. “And I can play with Jamie while you make it. I'm too little to make toast.”

“I ought to tell Tony that,” said Pepper seriously. “He thinks that anyone can play with toasters, no matter how little they are.”

“Are you taller than him?”

“Only with high heels on,” said Pepper, smiling. “And just by a couple of inches, then.”

She set Jamie down on a blanket on the floor, and Maggie gave Jamie some of the new toys she had helped Steve buy. The television was on, but not very loudly, and it was on the news. There was a man on CNN talking about the superheroes.

“That's Captain 'Merica,” said Maggie, pointing.

“That is Captain America, isn't it?” Pepper handed her a plate of toast but didn't make her go and sit at the table. Maggie sat on the couch and tried very hard to keep the crumbs on her lap.

“He and the other superheroes are in Boston today. Some bad men went to Boston and started to hurt people, so the Avengers are stopping them.”

Maggie watched them for a moment. She could see Iron Man flying around, shooting lasers out of his hands. Hawkeye was on the tippy top of a building, shooting arrows, and the Black Widow was fighting bad guys on the street. Captain America was helping her, throwing his shield and catching it again and punching bad guys in the face.

“Where's the other two guys?” she asked Pepper. “The green guy and the cape guy?”

“Thor is at home,” said Pepper. “I think he had some family business. And the green guy is, well, he's taking a nap.”

“Why would he take a nap? They need him to smash bad guys.”

“Well, those bad guys look pretty smashed to me,” said Pepper.

It was true. The bad guys were beginning to stop fighting, holding up their hands and yelling words that Maggie couldn't hear.

“Where does Thor live?” she asked Pepper interestedly. She seemed to know a lot about the superheroes.

“He lives on a different world, far far away.”

“Really?”

“Really truly. It's called Asgard,” said Pepper.

“Is Thor nice?”

“He's very nice. I bet you would like him.” Pepper went back into the kitchen. “Do you like fruit, Maggie?”

“I like grapes and apples and or-nages,” said Maggie. “Bananas are gross and mushy.”

“How about raspberries? Do you like those?”

“I never had them before.”

“Well, would you like to try them?”

“Okay.”

Pepper handed her one raspberry. Maggie put it in her mouth. It was soft and squishy and sour.

“They're pretty good,” she said, surprised. “Do you think Jamie could eat one?”

“What do you think, JARVIS?” said Pepper.

There was a moment of silence, and then JARVIS said, “According to the most recent studies done in child nutrition, children as young as six months may consume berries without harm. However, the seeds in raspberries may pass through the digestive system without change, so they may be found in Mr. Thomas's wastes. Raspberries are soft enough that they will not prevent a choking hazard, and Mr. Thomas should be teething fairly soon and trying to gum foods anyway.”

“Let's try it.” Pepper picked a raspberry and showed it to Jamie. Jamie stared at it for a moment, then took it and promptly squished it in his hand.

“No, silly, you eat it,” said Maggie. “Here, like this.” She picked up a raspberry, making sure that Jamie was looking at her, and put it in her mouth. Jamie stared at her.

Pepper handed him another raspberry. Jamie squished it again, but he put his hand up by his mouth and opened his mouth.

“One more time, little guy,” said Pepper.

This time the raspberry made it to Jamie's mouth. He made a funny face while he was eating it. His eyes got all squinty and his mouth opened a few times, showing fruit on his tongue and teeth. Then he put his hand in his mouth again.

“I think he likes it,” decided Maggie.

“Let's give him another one.”

Maggie picked the biggest, darkest raspberry and put it right on Jamie's mouth. He ate it right away, making faces as he mushed it around in his mouth. Maggie and Pepper laughed.

There was a knock at the door.

“It's Mr. Banner,” said JARVIS. “Shall I let him in?”

“Please,” said Pepper, setting Jamie down on the floor. The door slid open and a man with black fluffy hair came in, looking tired.

“JARVIS said you were down here and that everyone else was on a mission,” he said, yawning. “I came down to ask if you knew more about it.”

“It's on the TV,” said Pepper. “JARVIS can brief you, but maybe not here.” She glanced at Maggie.

The man looked at them, blinked, and then smiled. “Hello,” he said softly. “What are your names?”

“I'm Maggie and that's Jamie,” said Maggie. “We're living with Steve now.”

“Are you? That's good. Steve is very nice.” The man stuck his hands in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Did you eat breakfast?” said Maggie. “You should have toast. Pepper makes really good toast.”

“It's a recently acquired skill,” said Pepper, smiling. “Of the foods that Tony responds to best when he's absorbed with something, toast has become rather successful. I think it's because it doesn't distract him with flavor.”

The man laughed. “That sounds like Tony,” he said, smiling still. “My name is Bruce. Can I come sit down there with you?”

Maggie nodded. “We're eating raspberries. Mr. JARVIS says that Jamie can eat them even though he's little but the seeds will come out in his poo.”

Bruce chuckled. “Well, I bet he'll like eating them. Will he mind if I pick him up?”

Maggie decided that Bruce was very nice. He wasn't loud and fun, like Clint, or smart and pretty like Natasha, but he was smiley and quiet. She nodded.

Bruce sat down next to her and reached for Jamie. At first Jamie stared at him, looking a little scared, but Maggie whispered, “Give him a raspberry. He likes them.”

Bruce obeyed. Jamie ate the raspberry, then stuck his tongue out, licking at his chin like he did sometimes when he was eating something. Maggie noticed that Bruce was being really careful about holding Jamie, the way that Grandmother had held Jamie before she went to the angels a little after Jamie was born.

“How old is he?” said Bruce, and he was whispering.

“He's a half.”

“Eight months,” said Pepper. “I'm sure that Steve has their paperwork somewhere, but Maggie informed me that Jamie was born around Easter.”

“Easter, huh?” Bruce smiled. “I bet he'd look very cute in a little bunny outfit. What do you think, Maggie? Would Jamie be a cute little rabbit?”

Maggie laughed. “He doesn't have to be a bunny to be cute. He's already the cutest baby ever.”

“He absolutely is,” agreed Bruce. He let Jamie lean on his chest, holding him up with one arm and rubbing his back with the other. “Does he cry a lot?”

“Just when he's hungry or sleepy or when he needs a new diaper,” said Maggie. “He laughs a lot.”

“That's wonderful. What about you? Do you cry a lot?”

“I cried when Daddy went to the angels, and when Grandmama went to the angels, and then they said yesterday that Mama went to the angels too, but it was during the day and Steve was busy buying me'n'Jamie new clothes and new beds and JARVIS said we were getting good food like macaroni and cheese, and we had that for dinner but Jamie had formula because he's too little to have macaroni and cheese or else he'll be lack-toes intol'rint, and you see it was a very busy day so I didn't have time to cry. But I did cry a little after Steve put me to bed. I didn't want to make him more worried.”

“Oh,” said Bruce, and he looked sad for a moment, but then he said seriously, “You know, Maggie, it's okay to cry. Sometimes when you cry, it's better to just cry everything away than it is to be sad and not cry. Because then you'll get cranky, and being cranky is no fun.”

Maggie nodded. “But Steve is already worried,” she explained. “He didn't know who we were at all, and now he has to take care of us, and he said he would take care of us until we were growned up enough to take care of ourselves, and I think it's a lot of work to take care of people, because Jamie always needs his diaper changed or to eat something or to sleep. And I think Steve has lots of grownup stuff to worry about, too. So I don't want him to worry too much.”

She just wanted to be sure that they knew that, so that they wouldn't worry about her, too. But Bruce nodded, and Maggie felt that he did understand, about making people worry. “How old are you, Maggie?”

“I'm four and a half. I'm going to turn five in five months and three days.”

“So is your birthday in April, too? Just like Jamie?”

“Yep, except I was borned before Jamie. I'm on the sixth and he's on the twentieth.”

“Of course.” Bruce nodded again. “Have you ever been to school?”

“Nope, I'm too little. But I think I go next year.”

“You'll be old enough to go,” said Pepper. Her voice sounded kind of far away, and Maggie looked up at her and saw she was looking at the TV.

The bad guys were all done, and they were going to jail with the police cars. The Black Widow turned away from the cameras, even though they were trying to look at her, and moved her hand up to her ear. A big black plane flew down into the city, and Captain America and Hawkeye and the Black Widow all walked into it. Iron Man waved to the cameras, then flew into the jet just as the door was closing.

“Thank God,” said Pepper, and she suddenly sounded very cheerful. “Well, Maggie, you've had your breakfast. Do you want to get dressed now?”

“Yeah. I've gotta go to the toilet.”

“Did Steve show you where it is? Can you use a big toilet?”

Maggie nodded. “I just learned last year when I was only three.”

“Great. Go ahead and do that first, and I'll come help you pick out some clothes.”

“Steve didn't buy me very many clothes.”

“I bought you some more,” said Pepper. “I'll have them brought down while you're in the bathroom.”

Maggie went to the bathroom. Steve had a very grown-up bathroom, with bottles of shampoo and conditioner in a shower that didn't have a bathtub, just a door, and there wasn't a fuzzy rug on the toilet seat like they had at home. She could see her new toothbrush in the toothbrush holder by the sink though, and it was bright pink. Everything else in the bathroom was white or brown, like the shower curtains.

She washed her hands while the toilet made scary flush sounds, then brushed her teeth like Mama had told her to do in the mornings. She opened the bathroom door again and went out into the living room. Pepper came in, carrying a big cardboard box, followed by three more people with cardboard boxes.

“Are all those for me?” said Maggie.

“One is for Jamie, because he's smaller than you and his clothes are smaller,” said Pepper. “But the rest is for you.” She opened the first box and pulled out a pair of jeans and a white shirt with blue butterflies on it. “How do you feel about this one?”

Maggie nodded, and went into the bathroom to put it on while the people put her and Jamie's new clothes away. Pepper helped Maggie pick out a red onesie and baby jeans for Jamie, and Maggie helped Bruce put them on.

“Did you change his diaper already?”

“I did that while you were in the bathroom,” said Bruce, looking fondly at Jamie. “He was very nice about it, too. Some babies like to pee in your face when you're changing them.”

“Ew!” shrieked Maggie, and Jamie made a loud noise in protest. “Sorry, Jamie. Bruce, that's gross!”

“It's true,” said Bruce sagely, but he was grinning. “I've changed a lot of diapers, Maggie, and half the time they wait to pee until you've got a clean diaper under them, and then they go right for your face.”

Maggie laughed.

“All done, thank you,” said Pepper, escorting the people who had brought the clothes out of Steve's room. “Now, Maggie, would you like to go on a field trip?”

“A field trip?” said Maggie. “It's winter, and all the zoos are closed.”

“Well, not a very big field trip. Would you like to see more of the tower? We have an aquarium with lots of colorful fish down on the fourth floor.”

Maggie turned to Jamie. “Jamie, do you wanna see rainbows of fishies?”

Jamie gurgled.

“He wants to go see rainbows of fishies.”

Bruce tucked Jamie into a sling that Steve had bought, swaddling him to Bruce's chest, and Maggie put on a pair of socks and the yellow boots that Steve had gotten for her, and they rode down the very fast elevator to go and see the fish.

Maggie gasped when she saw the fish. “So many!” she shrieked, running to press her fingers on the glass. There were lots of fish, billions and billions, and they were every color, and there were pretty rocks and the glass was so tall that she could see all of the fishies.

Bruce followed, smiling. Pepper was on her phone, but she grinned when Maggie showed her the big starfish that had settled on the glass, sticking with lots of pink circles. It was bigger than she was.

“How many fish do you think there are?” asked Bruce. He held Jamie up to the glass to see, and Jamie touched the glass and stared at the fish with wide eyes.

“A hunnerd billion,” said Maggie seriously. “And two more after that.”

“Do you have a favorite?” said Bruce.

Maggie looked at all the fish she could see, swimming lazily in groups or by themselves. But then she saw a tiny blue one right by the glass, darting in and out of a little rock that looked like a castle.

“That one,” she said, pointing.

Bruce looked at it. “It's very pretty,” he agreed.

“And it has a castle. Castles are important.” Maggie gently touched the glass, and the fish swam in a circle near her hand instead of swimming away in fright.

“Hey JARVIS,” said Bruce. “Did Tony name this fish?”

“I believe that the only fish that Master Stark has personally named are the giant starfish, the three puffer fish, and the two clownfish,” said JARVIS.

“Great,” said Bruce.

“Can we call the little blue one Flower?” asked Maggie.

“I shall note it in the system, Miss Thomas.”

“That means yes,” Bruce told her.

High heels clicked as Pepper walked over to them. “Everyone is back,” she said, in a very happy voice. “Cuts and bruises, that's all. I'm going to go up and see what's needed. Perhaps you should give them a few minutes before coming back up.”

Bruce nodded.

“Is Steve back?” said Maggie.

“He is, but he needs to change into some good clothes,” said Pepper. “He's in his pajamas right now.” Bruce snickered. “And so is everyone else. I'm going to go back upstairs, and you can come in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Maggie turned back to the glass, watching Flower swim in little circles, moving in and out of the castle. But she listened to Pepper and Bruce talking quietly.

“He won't be able to keep it from them forever,” said Bruce.

“I know. But they ought to be given some time,” said Pepper. “Jamie will adjust to whatever he has to, I think. Babies do that, even though of course the idea is to make his life as normal as possible, under the circumstances. But Maggie already has some ideas about the world, and she probably shouldn't be told until she needs to be told.”

“I guess that's fair,” said Bruce, sounding resigned.

“It's Steve's decision, ultimately. The rest of us will support him in that until he decides differently.” Pepper turned towards the elevator. “Bye, Maggie. I'll see you later, okay?”

“Okay,” said Maggie. She was still watching Flower, but now she knew that the grownups had some secrets. That was okay. Maggie had secrets, too. Like the test with all the puzzles that Mama had showed her when she was only three instead of four. And she could read pretty good, too. But Pepper said that Steve might tell her and Jamie the secrets some day, so she would wait until then.

 

Tony Stark let the suit fall away, detached by robot hands, as he walked along the tower arm. “Hey, JARVIS, what are the damages looking like?”

“The damages to your suit are minimal, sir. Estimated time of repairs is one hour.”

“Oh, goody. I can do that.” Tony reached into his pocket absently, then remembered that they had gotten called out at ass o'clock in the morning and he was still wearing sweatpants and hadn't brought his phone. But Pepper came in, looking a little bit cross and very, very hot, and handed him his phone before kissing him hard.

“JARVIS, move back the suit repair for a while. I've got things I wanna do right now.”

“Don't pay attention to him,” Pepper said to JARVIS. “I'm glad you're home, but you have things you need to be doing.”

“Um, yeah. Wanna guess what the top of the list is right now?” He kissed her again.

“I know what you'd _like_ for the top of the list to be, but there are more important things.” Pepper detached herself from his arms and picked up the clipboard she had dropped on the leather sofa. “I'd like you to take a look at Maggie.”

“Who's Mag― oh, right, Steve's love-grandchild.”

“I'm pretty sure they're not actually genetically related,” said Pepper. “So you should probably not call her that. Not in front of Steve, anyway.”

“And why do you want me to take a look at Maggie?”

Pepper hesitated. “She's unusually mature,” she said, after a moment.

“Well, you should probably put Bruce on it, then. I'm not known for being mature.”

“She's very emotionally advanced for a four-year-old. I was down in Steve's apartment today with Bruce, making breakfast for them, and I was listening to her talk to Bruce. JARVIS, play back the recording.”

Tony listened as Maggie's bright, chirpy voice echoed in serious, sweet tones. “ _I cried when Daddy went to the angels, and when Grandmama went to the angels, and then they said yesterday that Mama went to the angels too, but it was during the day and Steve was busy buying me'n'Jamie new clothes and new beds and JARVIS said we were getting good food like macaroni and cheese, and we had that for dinner but Jamie had formula because he's too little to have macaroni and cheese or else he'll be lack-toes intol'rint, and you see it was a very busy day so I didn't have time to cry. But I did cry a little after Steve put me to bed. I didn't want to make him more worried._ ”

Tony frowned. “She sounds like Steve.”

“There's that. But really, what four-year-old doesn't want to worry people? Four-year-olds are entirely self-absorbed, and not in a bad way. They want to be given everything.”

“Kids can be altruistic,” said Tony. “I think.

“JARVIS, play the next bit of the recording.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Bruce's voice said. “ _You know, Maggie, it's okay to cry. Sometimes when you cry, it's better to just cry everything away than it is to be sad and not cry. Because then you'll get cranky, and being cranky is no fun_ .”

“ _But Steve is already worried. He didn't know who we were at all, and now he has to take care of us, and he said he would take care of us until we were growned up enough to take care of ourselves, and I think it's a lot of work to take care of people, because Jamie always needs his diaper changed or to eat something or to sleep. And I think Steve has lots of grownup stuff to worry about, too. So I don't want him to worry too much_ .”

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning. “Huh,” he said, scratching at his chin.

“She hasn't picked up on the fact that she lives in a tower full of superheroes,” said Pepper, “but she knows something's up. And it is Steve's decision to tell her, as he's her legal guardian.”

“But you want me to, what, exactly? Run tests on her?”

“Emotional intelligence in a child that young can often be indicative of other factors.” Pepper studied him, and Tony looked away. “You know this, Tony.”

“I'm not emotionally intelligent.”

“You can be when you want to, and you know it. You choose not to be, most of the time.” She sat down on the couch. “But you're good with me, and with Bruce. And you know what caused a lot of your emotional intelligence.”

“Being ignored as a child and growing into an anti-social genius with pet robots,” said Tony breezily. “Well, that kid's not going to be ignored, Pep. She's got Steve Rogers for a dad. There will never be two more well-taken-care-of children. Physically and emotionally.”

“I think that some of the hell you went through this last year also contributed,” said Pepper, her voice a little too bland.

Tony winced. He didn't like to think about their Malibu home crashing into the ocean, or that asshole who had kidnapped Pepper and pumped her full of weird Extremis shit. Mostly, he didn't like to think about panic attacks or nightmares or things that happened much less, but still did, on occasion, happen.

“Because I had shit happen to me?” he said dubiously.

“Because people who experience mental illness ― shut up, Tony, you  _know_ you have anxiety disorder― are more self-aware, and self-awareness is the opposite of being self-absorbed. Being self-aware means that you know yourself, your needs, which you tend to ignore more often than not, and what you need to do to interact properly with other people, and maybe improperly in your case.”

She was making some good points. These were really, really good points.

“I'm not exactly a role model,” said Tony. “Maybe Steve should have a say in this.”

“He will have a say. But you know you've got to talk to her, to ask about any emotional trauma.”

“Her mother, father, and grandmother all died this year. That's emotional trauma right there.”

“Then she still needs to talk about it,” said Pepper. “And you're probably one of the best people to talk to about it.”

Tony let out a sigh. “All right,” he said. “I'll mention it to Steve.”

“Good,” said Pepper. She kissed him lightly on the nose. “Now go get dressed and eat some breakfast.”

“I'd rather be getting  _un_ dressed, if you know what I mean.”

“Maybe later,” said Pepper, tossing a look at him over her shoulder. Tony felt his knees wobble a little bit. “I've got things to do.”

“God,” mumbled Tony, watching her vanish into the elevator. “Of course you do.”

 

Steve finished peeling his uniform off. Natasha had helped stitch his chest up in the Quinjet with a slender, clean needle, clear fishing line, and vodka to sterilize it. It looked bloodier than it was, and the wound was already half healed thanks to super-soldier serum speed healing. 

Clint had laughed at Steve's face as Natasha had sewn him up. “I've had worse doctored by her,” he said, grinning. “And she's had worse doctored by me.”

“If it helps, Clint was largely my practice dummy,” said Natasha absently. “Ask him about Budapest sometime, he's got a wicked scar on his leg. First wound I ever stitched up.”

“You know, normal people would go to the S.H.I.E.L.D medical bay. Or, you know, a hospital.”

“We've learned to be self-sufficient,” said Natasha, glancing up at Clint and pausing in her work. Clint smiled, not really looking at Natasha.

“It becomes easier,” she explained.

Tony was looking around. “Question,” he said. “Doesn't this boat belong to S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Yeah,” said Clint. “Or it did, back when S.H.I.E.L.D was a thing. I kind of requisitioned it. Permanently. It's useful, you know.”

“Is it on autopilot?” said Tony.

“Yeah. It's using an old S.H.I.E.L.D program. But you can tinker around with it when we get home and put JARVIS in, if you want.”

“Good,” said Tony fervently. “Because I bet I could improve it.”

They'd gotten home, Clint carefully parking the Quinjet on the helicopter pad on the top of the tower. Tony had flown down to his office lounge floor, and Clint and Natasha had vanished to wherever it was they went after missions, and Steve had gone down to his floor, expecting with trepidation to explain things to Maggie.

But she wasn't there. “JARVIS, where's Maggie and Jamie?” said Steve.

“Dr. Banner and Ms. Potts took them to the fourth floor to view the aquarium. I believe the decision was made so as to respect your wish to keep your identity as Captain America secret from the children.”

“Oh,” said Steve, relieved. “Thanks.”

“I have observed that Dr. Banner is very much enamored of the children, especially young Mr. Thomas, and he would probably be very willing to help you in case you needed someone to watch them.”

“Really? That's great, JARVIS, thanks.” Steve tossed his uniform parts and the mask onto the floor. They would need to be cleaned and repaired soon. He had three uniforms, all identical, and Tony had promised him more. But he didn't want to waste uniforms.

He showered quickly, being careful not to disturb Natasha's sewing job, and noted to himself to ask Bruce about the wound later. Tony had a medical bay, but Steve wasn't sure he could entrust them with super soldier DNA.

He dried off and put on a T-shirt and jeans, then padded into the living room to look for his sneakers. The door opened and Bruce came in, with Jamie in the sling and holding Maggie's hand.

“Hi, Steve!” said Maggie cheerfully. “Bruce and Pepper took me'n'Jamie to see the fishies. I found a blue one that lives in a castle. JARVIS let me give him a name.”

“Really? What's he called?” said Steve, smiling. There was something very soothing about Maggie, and how happy she seemed all the time.

“Flower,” said Maggie. “And there was a big giant starfish and he was bigger than me. And there were yellow fish and blue fish and red fish and pink fish and green fish and purple fish and or-nage fish.”

“That's really neat,” said Steve. “Did you eat breakfast?”

“Pepper made me toast and I tried raspberries. They were yummy. Jamie likes them too, but JARVIS said that the seeds might come out in his poop.” Maggie sat on the couch. “We watched the news. There were bad guys and superheroes in Boston.”

Bruce raised one eyebrow at Steve. Steve raised one eyebrow back.

“Who's your favorite superhero?” he asked Maggie. 

“I like Captain America. Because he wears blue.”

Steve grinned, feeling gratified. “He's pretty neat, I guess.”

Bruce set Jamie down on the blanket in the corner that had been designated Jamie's play area, and Maggie sat with him, reading him a story out of a board book while Jamie lay on his back and nibbled at his toes. Bruce nodded at Steve. “I hear you got a cut on your chest. Natasha sent me a message asking me to look at it.”

“Oh, yeah.” Steve glanced at the kids. “Um, maybe the bathroom?”

Bruce nodded. They went into the bathroom, and Steve lifted his T-shirt to show Bruce.

Bruce examined the wound minutely. “She did a good job. Did you wash it when you showered?”

“I was careful. Nothing broke.”

“Okay. Well, I'd recommend you take it easy until it's healed, and then you can probably pull out the stitches yourself. How long will that take, incidentally?”

“Probably about half an hour,” said Steve, glancing down at his chest. It looked days old, although it had been inflicted maybe two hours ago. “If the knife got anything internal, then it's probably already healed. The serum tends to work from inside to out.”

Bruce nodded. “Interesting. “Well, maybe don't hold Jamie until everything's healed, unless you're going to use the sling on your back.”

“I could do that.”

They went back out into the living room, and Maggie said, “Steve, you look sleepy. You should take a nap.” 

“I'm not that sleepy,” said Steve, smiling. “I got up pretty early, but I usually do. I can take a nap later. What I should do is eat some breakfast.”

“You could make toast,” said Maggie. “You shouldn't eat that shredded wheat. It looks gross. There isn't any sugar on it.”

Steve laughed. “I eat it with milk and fruit,” he explained. “Sometimes with honey, too. It's pretty good that way.”

Bruce smiled, picking up Jamie again. “They liked the aquarium,” he said. “This little one was fascinated by it. All the color and visual stimulation, probably.”

“JARVIS said you really like the kids.”

“I love kids,” confessed Bruce. “I've never been able to do much with them, and I don't want to hurt them. But I've been feeling very calm today, so I decided to indulge myself.”

“I like Bruce,” said Maggie stoutly. “He says that crying is okay. Can I have some more raspberries?”

“They're in the fridge. Go for it,” said Steve.

Maggie ate about two-thirds of the raspberries, and she fed the rest of them to Jamie. Steve got six, to put on his shredded wheat, and Bruce was wholly absorbed in watching Jamie eat. Steve decided that he would try to involve Bruce in their lives as much as Bruce wanted to be there. He was good with kids, and he liked them, and Steve knew that he needed all the help he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up with Maggie? Stay tuned. Or don't. I wouldn't blame you, because I'm pretty sure this is only interesting to like me and maybe a few other people.
> 
> P.S. I assume that we're post-Cap 2 here, so Iron Man 3 also already happened. Whoop.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't catch on:  
> Margaret Thomas, aka Maggie, is the ***original character*** daughter of Stephanie Carter Thomas, aka Stevie, who is the ***also original character*** daughter of Margaret Carter, aka Peggy. James Thomas, aka Jamie, is the brother of Maggie. Maggie was named for Peggy, Jamie was named for Bucky, and their mother Stephanie was named for Steve. I thought that that would be fitting.


End file.
